The Laughing Friend
by Become1withSealand
Summary: Haldir meets a new friend in the most unusual way, by her kidnapping his brother. In return of a favor, she helps him out later on in his life. No romance, just odd bits of humor, friendship, and some tragedy. Rated for blood and some of the tragedy parts.


**Hey my muse, Leila, got inspiration from a conversation between two of my friends and me on Facebook. Anything in italics is being spoken in the elvish language. It may also mean someone is thinking it, but I'll let you know when they are thinking. Also, if it's in the middle of a sentence, it probably means emphasis on the word/words.  
QingQing: Pronounced Ching-Ching  
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.**

**Part 1**

"My Lord, there has been a sighting of a strange creature in the forest. It seems to be waiting for something." Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel were welcoming the Fellowship of the Ring when the young elvish soldier barged in. "Rinion, you should always wait for permission before you enter a room of the Lord and the Lady, especially with guests," Haldir scolded. "I apologize, sir, but we have never seen a creature like this before."

"What appearance does this creature have?" Lady Galadriel inquired. "It is taller than a dwarf but by only half a head. It is wearing a black, hooded cloak covering its face and body."

"What is it doing?" Haldir asked, his brain racking for ideas of what this creature may be. It most certainly did not seem to be Gollum, Orcs, or Goblins. The cloak would make it seem to be a Nazgul, but they are tall, undeniably not only half a head taller than a dwarf.

"It stands and looks at the city. Occasionally it will shift its position and move, but it never makes any sign of threat." Everyone turned their gaze to the Lady of the Light, waiting for her explanation of the creature. "I cannot see the being; it seems as if it does not exist." A being that the Lady cannot see; that has never happened in all the time Haldir could remember. "Marchwarden, observe this creature. Do not harm it unless it poses a threat," Lord Celeborn commanded. Haldir nodded and followed Rinion to where the being could easily be seen.

He could see how small it truly was; he guessed it only came up to his chest. Haldir would have thought the cloak as camouflage, except the creature did not seem to want to be hidden. Instead, it stood in full view, as if waiting for something. What would this creature be waiting for? Haldir got a chill down his spine as the idea of what this thing could be waiting for blossomed in his mind; an accomplice. It is waiting for an accomplice to do something to the city. The creature here is merely a distraction.

"Rinion, go tell Rúmil to get as many ellon as he can together and have them search the city and watch the entire perimeter. We are under attack," Haldir commanded the young soldier. Rinion nodded before running off.

_Where is your friend? What is he doing? Whose orders are you following? Who and what are you? _These thought flew through Haldir's head as he watched the figure. He furrowed his brow as the figure raised its head. The Marchwarden's eyes widened as he heard a voice rising through the night sky.

"An Elven-maid there was of old,  
A shining star by day;  
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,  
Her shoes of silver-gray.

A star was bound upon her brows,  
A light was on her hair  
A sun upon the golden boughs  
In Lórien the fair.

Her hair was long, her limbs were white,  
And fair she was and free;  
And in the wind she went as light  
As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,  
By water clear and cool,  
Her voice as falling silver fell  
Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell,  
In sunlight or in shade;  
For lost in lore was Nimrodel  
And in the mountains strayed.

The elven-ship in haven gray  
Beneath the mountain-lee  
Awaited her for many a day  
Beside the roaring sea.

A wind by night in Northern lands  
Arose, and aloud it cried,  
And drove the ship from elven-strands  
Across the streaming tide.

When dawn came dim the land was lost,  
The mountains sinking gray  
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed  
Their plumes of blinding spray.

Amroth beheld the fading shore  
Now low beyond the swell,  
And cursed the faithless ship that bore  
Him far from Nimrodel.

Of old he was an Elven-king,  
A lord of tree and glen,  
When golden were the boughs in spring  
In fair Lothlórien.

From helm to sea they saw him leap,  
As arrow from the string,  
And dive into the water deep,  
As mew upon the wing.

The wind was in his flowing hair,  
The foam about him shone;  
Afar they saw him strong and fair  
Go riding like a swan.

But from the West has come no word,  
And on the Hither Shore  
No tidings Elven-Folk have heard  
Of Amroth evermore."

As the last syllable died Haldir felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle. Whatever this being was, it knew the elven song of the maiden Nimrodel. Haldir had no thought about what this being could be for no foul creature knew that song, yet it did not seem friendly.

"May I come up?" The question startled him. "Excuse me, can you hear me?" Haldir drew an arrow, nocked it to his bow, and aimed at the figure. "Who are you?" he called down. "My name is Bellethiel and I need your help." It, no _she, _had an elven name. If she was an elf, why did she not try to interact with one of the patrols? Why did she not interact with any of the elves she must have seen? Why was she just now asking for help?

"Excuse me, but are you going to help me? My friend is gravely injured and may be dead, but I was hoping someone could still look at him. A healer would be awesome right now." Her friend was dead or dying and she had waited all this time to finally speak. Something didn't seem right. Haldir decided to go down and talk to her with his brothers. "Do not move; I will be down shortly."

"Thank you." Haldir found Orophin with little trouble. "_Brother, what do you want?" _The elder inquired. "_The being is a female by the name of_ _Bellethiel."_

"_Oh, and what does she want?"_

"_She said her friend in injured and needs our help, but something does not seem right about it. Where is R__ú__mil? I wish for him to accompany us to talk face to face with her."_

"_He is out gathering troops, just as you asked."_

"_Come, we must find him in case she attacks." _Orophin nodded and the two set out in search of their brother. They finally found him in the armory with a small group of about half a dozen warriors preparing for battling.

"_The being is what appears to be a small elleth, but we cannot be too trusting. I want all of you to check the perimeter to make sure she is not a distraction. Rúmil and Orophin will come with me to confront this mysterious Bellethiel. Do not attack, but be on your guard," _Haldir instructed the group before leading the other half of them to where the small figure was.

She moved towards them slowly, hands raised in front of her in the universal sign of peace. "I just wish for one of you to come with me to aid my friend, please," she said, still slowly working her way to them. "These are dark days and your accent strange. Why should we trust you?" Haldir asked her. "I sang the song of Nimrodel, what other proof do you need?"

"Why can the Lady of the Forest not see into your mind? How can we be certain that you are not an evil sorceress who learned the song in her travel?"

The figure sighed and answered, in a voice that almost sounded apologetic, "I'm sorry, I really don't want to do this, but I fear I have no other choice." With those words, she pulled out a strange sack and dumped black powder out. Orophin moved to stop her, but he was met with darkness none of the three brothers could see through.

After a few moments the darkness faded and the sun shone again. However, the numbers had decreased. Haldir panicked when he saw Bellethiel and Orophin both missing.

"_Come, Rúmil, we must get him back," _Haldir told his brother. The Marchwarden planned to meet up with the group patrolling and go to rescue his elder brother.

~later~

Haldir stood, a small smile on his face. The tracks they were following were fresh, very fresh. "_We are closing in," _he told the others before following the trail again. The small group had to only go on a few more paces before they heard quarreling. Haldir signaled for his men to hide and be prepared to shoot. He crept closer, making his footfalls light and inaudible.

The Marchwarden soon came upon a small clearing where he saw the cloaked figure, now with her hood down, facing away from him, two other strange looking humans, and Orophin tied up and gagged. Her two companions had bronze colored skin, something the ellon had never seen before.

"What do you mean you're alive? Do you know what I had to go through to get this guy! Now what am I supposed to do with him? If we let him go he'll kill us, if we don't his buddies will come and kill us!" Bellethiel was shouting at what appeared to be the male of the group. The other girl was watching the argument, remaining silent until now. "Here Brianna, have a magical protection Asian Amulet."

"An Asian Amulet, seriously QingQing?" the male asked, disbelief in his voice. "Thanks buddy. Banana, you better watch yourself, you're still in a major pile of doggy doo doo."

"_So, her name is really Brianna. What a strange name," _Haldir thought.

"Guys, we're not alone anymore," Brianna said, pulling out two small swords. Her friend, QingQing, pulled out a heavy two-handed sword. The male, Banana, also pulled out an object, is much less deadly though. It appeared to be a colorful bag with the words _Sour Patch Kids _written boldly on the front.

Haldir gave the signal to attack and fired an arrow at the strange enemies. Brianna held up the Asian Amulet and the arrow dissolved into a pile of ash. "Yeah Asians!" she yelled before rushing towards where Haldir was behind the tree. "Don't kill them, but don't die either," she told her friends, attacking the Marchwarden. QingQing nodded while Banana scurried up a tree before perching on the lowest branch.

Haldir was dueling with Brianna, becoming more and more distressed as her friends took out his soldiers. Banana would throw a small, odd colored object, hitting one of the warriors in the eye. The elf would become distracted, crying out that his eye was in great pain, before the other female dispatched him with a hit from the hilt of her sword to his head.

Eventually, the only two still standing were Haldir and Rúmil, both fighting their own battles. QingQing was fighting the youngest of the brothers while Haldir was still trying to take down Brianna. Banana was going between the two brothers, both dodging his little candy pellets.

Haldir grounded his teeth together, determined to finish this fight. Neither of them seemed to be tiring. In fact, it seemed to him that the girl was just toying with him. Putting as much strength as he could into a thrust, he managed to knock one of the swords out of her hands. Soon after, the second followed.

Brianna looked up at him with wide eyes, and Haldir raised his sword to finish her off. He looked into her eyes and saw only fear. No anger, no lust to kill or seek revenge. The elf saw her for what she truly was, a small scared girl who did not wish to fight or injure anyone. He lowered his sword, unable to end her young life. The last thing he saw was shock and relief in her eyes before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and darkness over took him.

~0~

Haldir regained consciousness and found himself free of bonds and leaned against a tree while Brianna was dabbing at the back of his head with a wet cloth and with a terrible pounding in his head. "Keep still or you'll only make the pain worse," she told him, never pausing in her task. "What…why…," Haldir tried to formed the words, but the pain made it impossible to think.

"QingQing, you hit him too hard in the head, I think he's going to have permanent brain damage," Brianna said to her friend who was tending to another elf's injuries. "Sorry," the girl responded, never looking up from her duty.

"There, I got as much blood as I could off you head. It was mighty hard, though, with all that hair you have so make sure you wash it yourself to get any leftover fluids I missed," she told him. "We took care of your friends all ready, so don't worry about them. You weapons are all in the pile right over there," Haldir followed to where her finger was pointing and saw a small pile of swords, bows, and quivers.

"Now, since we don't need your help anymore we will be heading off. Don't worry about us not leaving, if we're lucky you'll never see or hear of us again," the girl continued. Haldir did his best to concentrate, but the pounding in his head was so distracting.

"Okay, you two go ahead, I just need to do one more thing," Brianna told her friends, waving them off. They nodded and began to walk off, arguing about something. Haldir thought he heard one of them saying how being stabbed didn't affect how one played an instrument, but it was so outrageous he must have been mistaken.

"Here, put his under your tongue. Don't worry, it's not poisonous, it'll help with the pain," Brianna told him, handing Haldir a small leaf. The pain was slowly numbed until he could no longer feel it. He looked at the small girl, sitting with her chin resting on her knees.

"Why didn't you kill me?" she asked him suddenly, staring into his eyes. It was unnerving; her eyes looked into his as if she could read his mind, every detail, every memory. They reminded him of Lady Galadriel's eyes. Light gray orbs that could see into his soul, see the light and dark inside of him. "You are just a little girl," he told her.

Not believing it Brianna snorted. "Yeah, right. You were going to kill me; you almost did even though I am _just a little girl. _Something made you stop and not do it though, what was that?"

Deciding to just tell her the truth, Haldir answered, "I saw the fear in your eyes and realized that you couldn't be evil even if you wanted to."

"You are mistaken. I can be evil, I can kill you in one move," Brianna stood up, towering over the elf. He started to believe she really was evil and was just deceiving him earlier when she deflated, sitting on the ground with a hard thud.

"I choose not to though, I choose to be innocent and child-like. I choose to see the good in everyone, even if they have more bad than good in them," she sighed, sounding much older than she appeared. "You spared me my life, so I'm in your debt. I will come if you ever need help, I promise."

Brianna held out her little finger. Haldir looked at it with a confused look on his face. She took his calloused hand in her small one and hooked their two smallest fingers together. The act seemed childish, but something about it brought comfort to Haldir, as if no matter where he went, no matter what danger he was in, he had a friend who would come for him.

The girl leaned in and did another act which left the Marchwarden surprised. She hugged him, as a small child would hug a father for comfort. Acting on instinct, he wrapped his arms around her as well.

"Can I ask you a question?" Brianna whispered in his ear, not breaking their embrace. Haldir nodded. "What's your name?"

Haldir was in shock. She didn't even know who he was. "I am Haldir, Marchwarden of Lothlórien," he whispered back to her. Brianna leaned back and nodded. "Goodbye Haldir, remember I will keep my promise," she told him before disappearing into the forest after her friends.

**Part 2**

Haldir was in Helm's Deep, yelling at his troops to retreat back into the inner halls of the fort. A Urak-Hai attacked him, managing to give him a nasty cut on his forearm. He gasped and stared at the blood flowing down his arm. He did not notice the beast coming up behind him until it was too late. The creature raised its sword for a deadly blow when a small figure only a half-head taller than a dwarf wearing a black cloak with the hood drawn up darted between the blade and flesh.

Haldir spun around in time to see Brianna slash a gaping hole the Urak-Hai that was about to strike him down. "Come on, we can't just stand around here. We have to get to safety," she shouted to him over the clashing of metal and cries of the dying. The girl protected Haldir's left side as he could not fight with an injured arm.

The ellon looked on at the small child next to him and noticed something different about her. She had a glint in her eyes that showed she would show no mercy to those that dared to get in her way.

The pair was almost at their destination when a group of five Urak-Hai attacked them. Brianna let out a cry and began to fight them while Haldir helped as much as he could. He thought he saw his friend get struck many times, but decided against it when she continued on fighting as if nothing had happened.

Eventually they made it to building, rushing inside right before the doors were shut and barricaded. As the men decided what they were going to do about the threat outside the door, Brianna led Haldir over to a corner so she could inspect his wound.

"Ah, that's a nasty one right there it is," she murmured. Haldir hissed as she removed his now destroyed gauntlet and cut off the cloth underneath it sticking to his skin. The girl tore off a piece of a strange tunic she was wearing and wet if from a strange container filled with water. She dabbed away at the blood, trying to be as gentle as she could.

Haldir talked to her to keep his mind off the pain. "What does your tunic look like? I didn't get a chance to look at it fully, but I would like to," he told her. "Shh, if you're going to talk, don't ask me questions. I need to concentrate," she responded.

"What is this? A girl outside of the caves covered in the foul blood of our enemy healing a wounded elf? What madness is this?" a voice cried out. Both of them looked up to see King Théoden staring at them with shock in his eyes.

Haldir opened his mouth to say something, but Brianna beat him to it. "He is my patient and I will not leave him. If you have a problem with that, than keep it to yourself. I know you are a king, but I am sure you have bigger problems on your hands right now," she snapped at him before turning back to Haldir's wound.

The King looked as if he wanted to say something, but a large crash symbolizing the enemy was almost through the barricade drew his attention away from the odd pair. "You should have let me handle that. You will receive punishment from him later on if we are somehow able to win this battle. However, it seems as if this is our last stand. You should not even bother wasting your medicine on me, as it seems I will die soon with or without it."

The Marchwarden let out a hiss and threw back his head as Brianna spread an ointment on the cut, causing it to sting. "When I told you to not ask questions that did not mean to start talking about how we are all going to die. Always smile, always laugh, always think positive. Now _hush _if you have nothing good to say," she scolded him.

"Here, we must move if I am to finish this thing. It seems as if the others are going to charge," Brianna told him, helping him up in a sisterly way. "It was my arm, not my leg that was hurt you know," Haldir teased, trying to follow her advice and keep the mood light no matter what the circumstances were. "There you go, you're learning," she giggled, guiding him to a small closet. Haldir thought she looked a little pale, but he decided it was just because she was tired.

"We'll wait here for either the battle to end or for the enemy to take us down. No matter what though, we'll go down with a fight," Brianna told him. Haldir nodded and sat back down for the girl to finish bandaging his cut.

She had just finished when she slumped up against the wall opposite him, looking deathly pale and sweat collecting on her brow. Her breathing was raspy as Haldir leaned closer to inspect her. "Are you okay, did you become inured at all during that battle?" he asked, concern heavy in every syllable. His eyes widened as Brianna moved aside her cloak to reveal multiple stab wounds in her stomach, causing fabric to turn black.

"Why did you not tell me about this?" he inquired, trying to find some material to bandage her wounds. Realizing the only material long enough for it was his cape, he tore it off and started to cut it into strips with his dagger.

"No, it's fine," Brianna gasped. "No, it is not fine, you are dying. I need to heal you," Haldir said harshly, quickly regretting his tone. He lifted up her tunic enough to be able to care for her wounds, but not high enough to reveal parts that should remain hidden.

Not bothering to ask permission, he grabbed her sack of healing herbs and container of water. She weakly grabbed at the items, but was barely able to lift her arm. Haldir was glad for all the healing experience he had while he started to go through the routine of cleaning the wound, applying a healing salve, and wrapping it in a clean cloth. His cape, now in strips, was not what one may consider clean, but it was the best he could do and it would last until he could get a proper bandage.

As he was tying the last knot, Haldir heard the horns of victory. Despite Brianna's faint protests, he picked her up bridal style and carefully carried her out to where the men were gathered.

"Prince Legolas, please help her," Haldir called out to one of the only familiar faced in the crowd. The Prince of Mirkwood hurried over with concerned eyes. "What is wrong?" he asked, staring at the small figure in his friend's arms.

"She was stabbed multiple time is the torso area," Haldir explained. Legolas called over Aragorn and Haldir laid Brianna down. The Heir of Isildur checked her wounds with grave eyes. "There is nothing more you can do," he said after a few moments.

Haldir bent down as Brianna started to cough violently, blood spraying from her mouth. "Her lungs are filling with blood; there is nothing else we can do except wait for her end," Aragorn told the elf, grief in his face.

Haldir looked into the girl's face and a question struck his mind. "How old are you?" he asked her, dreading the answer already. "Fourteen," she gasped before erupting into another bloody coughing fit. Tears pricked the back of his eyes as he looked at her blood becoming dry and crusted on his hands. _She has had enough time to love, to hate, to experience all she need to experience; yet that makes it worse because she has had only enough time to been able to taste these feelings and not experience them as a whole, _Haldir thought.

"Everybody move!" a voice cried out and Haldir looked up to see her two friends sprinting towards them. "I am sorry, but she is almost gone," he whispered once they had stopped. "Banana, get the bag out. If I remember correctly there is still a little bit left. Oh why Brianna, why did you have to be so stupid?" QingQing said.

The last light of life left Brianna's eyes as they stared unseeing up at the sky. Haldir felt a tear slide down his cheek. "Yes! There is only about a spoonful left, but that should do it!" Banana exclaimed. Legolas, Aragorn, Haldir, and now Gimli as well looked on as the two children each a small handful of purple dust from a worn, brown bag and started to chant and sprinkle it on Brianna's body.

"Qui reverteretur ad vitam possit mortuus indolis

Qui perdiderit animam suam ut revertantur ad carmina

Ut femineo Respirare

Ut femineo iterum audi

Ut femineo gustabunt iterum

Qui dedit animam suam ut revertantur ad omnes

Ut qui fideliter et vita redit vocan

Ut femineo loquátur

Ut femineo sentire iterum

Ut femineo ultra videbitis

Qui reverteretur ad vitam possit mortuus indolis

Qui perdiderit animam suam ut revertantur ad carmina"

As the pair finished the last word, everyone jumped back as Brianna gasped for breath. "Thanks guys, now can you help me up? I still feel like shit," the once dead girl said. Her friends lifted her to her feet while the others could only stare in shock.

"Before you ask, it was magical fairy dust I bought off of one of our section leaders in band that can bring someone back to life. Of course there are rules, but I'd rather not explain them right now." She stumbled forward and gave Haldir a big hug despite him wearing hard armor that dug into her skin. "I would visit you, but I think it's time for us to go back to our own families. I'm starting to miss my parents," Brianna said, still burying her face in the solid metal.

Haldir felt terrible as he had not thought that these children had families somewhere waiting for them to return home. He hugged the small girl back, realizing that what she was saying was they would never see each other again.

He watched the trio walk off into the horizon. Two tall bronze skinned figures with a small figure covered with a black cloak and hood in between them. Haldir, the Marchwarden of Lothlórien would never forget the small fourteen year old girl who taught him to smile even when it seemed as if there was not light in the dark and to see the good in everyone even if it seemed as if there was no good in them.

**That was it, I wrote it in one go so sorry if it's horrible. I tried to lace it with humor and my own small oddities. I thought that appearances did not really matter so that's why I didn't really add any. If you desperately want to know what they look like, let me know. And by bronze skin I'm trying to say they are Asian in a not racist way. Please review and tell me what you think! I do appreciate professional criticism that could help my writing improve. The chant is in Latin, I got it off Google Translate. Keep scrolling down for it in English.**

May the life return to the one who has died so young

May the life return to the one who has lost her song

May she breathe again

May she hear again

May she taste again

May the life return to the one who has given her all

May the life return to the one who has faithfully answered the call

May she speak again

May she feel again

May she see again

May the life return to the one who has died so young

May the life return to the one who has lost her song


End file.
